To Doubt is Human
John 20:19-31
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

I think the disciple Thomas has been portrayed by the church in a negative light for too long. He's been renamed "Thomas the Doubter." But honestly who of us in this situation would not have had the same questions? I think a fair amount of critical thinking may be very healthy to our faith. Is asking critical questions about our faith or even about God a negative in itself?

Our “church culture” has often frowned on questioning our faith. Doubt is often portrayed as negative. I recently came across a podcast by the famous Rev. David Wilkerson, the founder of Teen Challenge. The sermon was entitled: “Doubt - the sin God hates most.”

But is doubt really a sin in God’s eyes? Is doubt really a criticism of God? Aren’t doubts, when expressed sincerely, not a way to reach out to God?

I am so glad that there are other voices within the church that offer a different view: I love "the Hymn of Promise" which is in our hymnal. In Verse 3, we find the following words: ..."in our doubt there is believing." What the author is suggesting here is that doubt may be a very natural spiritual phenomenon that is necessary for our spiritual growth. That’s quite the contrast to Rev. Wilkerson’s statement.

Looking at the disciple Thomas this morning we discover that he did indeed voice his honest questions and doubts about the resurrection of Jesus. However, it could be argued that as a result of his honest questions he gained a deeper revelation of Jesus than his peers.

I think it is significant that from Thomas's mouth we hear for the first time in the NT a statement of the divinity of Jesus Christ: "my Lord, and my God!" Perhaps, the author of the Gospel of John makes a connection here between of the function of sincerely expressed doubt leading to a deeper-rooted faith.

My personal feeling is that God wants us to be honest with ourselves and with God. God wants us to ask those questions that we harbor.

God is like that father who wants to sit you down on his lap and explain some of the things to you; maybe you will not get answers to all your questions, but the story of Thomas gives us hope that by expressing our theological struggles and our doubts, we will likely gain a deeper revelation of God.

I think we can conclude with some certainty that doubt is NOT a sin. Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen, that the other disciples had seen him. Jesus did not condemn him for that.

Doubt at its basic meaning is defined as “uncertainty.” God certainly understands that we can be uncertain in our faith. Doubt is human, we all go through phases of doubt and uncertainty, when we question what we believe about God. Or when we even question God.

Why are some folks so fearful of doubt? God is not intimidated by our doubts. God is big enough to deal with our questions.

And we don't have to fear losing our ways either. I think our doubts and questions actually express a desire to be in close relationship with God. If we didn't care about God, we wouldn't care to ask questions.

Doubt may even be a helpful and a necessary element in our faith. Even in our liturgy we talk about the “mystery of faith.” Mystery leaves room for wonderment, uncertainty and doubt about God and our faith.

The Church often acts so protective of it's doctrine, but there is nothing wrong with wanting to get answers from God for ourselves. Church doctrine can teach us and guide us only so far. But our Sunday School education is only a second-hand knowledge about God.

When Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen, that the other disciples had seen him, he was not mocking anybody's faith. Thomas just had to see it for himself. He was craving his own God experience.

There comes a time when borrowed faith isn't going to be enough, you have to find your own faith. You have to have your own God experience. In fact, the only way to ever discovering your own faith comes by way of doubting, by setting aside what you have been told about God by your parents and your faith community.

Native Americans call this search for your own God experience a vision quest. And often times this vision quest leads through the wilderness, through sleepless nights, through dark valleys. But hopefully, as you tackle the hardships of the questioning process, as you leave no rock unturned, as you wrestle with life's mysteries and sufferings, as you keep searching for answers until you find that vision, until you have that God experience. Then and only then, can you truly find yourself and your place in the universe

So, embrace your doubts, don't let anybody hold you back on your faith journey. Don't worry, we all have them. You are not alone. We're all in this together. The story of Thomas shows us that our doubts and our questions have a rightful place in God’s church. Amen!